nnjbees.org October 2015 NORTHEAST NEW JERSEY BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION OF NEW JERSEY A division of New Jersey Beekeepers Association

Transcription

1 nnjbees.org October 2015 NORTHEAST NEW JERSEY BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION OF NEW JERSEY A division of New Jersey Beekeepers Association President Frank Mortimer rd V. Pres. Karl Schoenknecht V. President Rich Schluger Secretary Jaimie Winters nd V. Pres. John Gaut Mentor Coordinator Treasurer Bob Jenkins Meeting on: Friday, October 16th at 7:30 PM, Location: Ramapo College of NJ, 505 Ramapo Valley Rd., Mahwah, NJ Bee Enthusiasts & Bee Curious always welcome! Weather permitting. Please join us on October 16th for our regular monthly meeting. Our special guests will be Jorik Phillips and Megan Denver of Hudson Valley Bee Supply. They will be talking to us on sustainable beekeeping and bee hunting. As always, there will be a Q & A session and refreshments served in our upstairs lounge. See you all then! Yearly Dues are payable now! Your $20 yearly dues goes to fund all of our activities, our post meeting refreshments, club supplies and all other necessities required to bring the best possible programs, classes, mentoring and to introduce new beekeepers to the art and craft of the hobby we all love so much. See Bob Jenkins to make your timely dues payment and from all the officers, Thank you for your continued support.

2 Message from the President: Hello Northeast NJ Beekeepers! Well, last month s Honey Cup was amazing! We had over 180 people attend, and all reports were that everyone had a great time. I would like to formally congratulate all of our winners for having the best honey and the best labels in Northeast NJ! And, to everyone who attended, thank you for making the Honey Cup such a special night. Our event is getting big enough that we may look for a different venue to hold it, and who knows, maybe someday it will grow into an all-day honey festival! Now that October is here, it is time to make sure our hives are ready for winter. By now, you should be finished up with your mite treatments. If you treated with Apivar, remember that it is important to remove the strips after the 42 days of treatment. Leaving the strips in your hive beyond the treatment period could cause the mites to build up a resistant to Apivar, which would render it ineffective in the future. Also, your hives should be heavy with honey so your bees have plenty to eat through the winter. If you are feeding your bees sugar syrup, remember that you need to remove the syrup before it gets too cold for the bees to eat it. Once the temperatures are regularly dropping into the 30s, you should make sure your feeders are off, because cold temperatures will not kill bees, but moisture will. Also, now is the time when you should put on your mouse guards, as they should be on while your colonies are strong and have not started to cluster. Once the bees start to cluster, then a mouse could set up shop in the bottom of your hive, destroying frame after frame of comb. The last few meetings of 2015 will be informative, and fun. We have great speakers lined up for October and November, and in December we will once again have our holiday party. Keep an eye on the supply catalogs, as this is the time of year when they start holding sales. Speaking of suppliers, Grant Stiles is now an authorized Mann Lake Dealer. Grant is located in Fords NJ, which is just a quick drive down the Parkway. You re not going to pay shipping on anything you get from Grant, so a great way to save on all of your beekeeping needs. Finally, the club will be sending out a survey asking what you would like our club to be doing. Please take a moment to fill it out, as it will help us to know what you want/need from you club, and ensure we remain the best bee club on the planet. See you Friday! Frank Mortimer President, Northeast NJ Beekeepers

3 Beekeeping in October By: John Gaut The bees have been working some remaining golden rod and the aster has been in full bloom in the beginning of the month. Most hive weights should have been steadily increasing; those that have not been keeping pace should have had some sugar syrup to help. The colonies are organizing the hive for the winter, storing honey and pollen. The field force will continue to bring in pollen and any nectar they can find this month. The colonies will reduce brood rearing as the days get shorter and cooler. The winter bees are emerging; winter survival will depend on their health and numbers. To survive the winter, the colonies should be strong and have a vigorous queen. Three other important considerations are: 1. Adequate food reserves, both honey and pollen. The hive should have 60 pounds of honey and at least the equivalent to 4 frames of pollen (bee bread). The colony will consume the honey to maintain a cluster temperature and also need the protein from the pollen to stay well nourished. In the middle of winter, the colony will start consuming both honey and pollen when they start brood rearing. 2. Low mite parasitism; less than 1% is ideal. Mites suck the hemolymph (bee s blood) and transmit viruses causing the colony to suffer a virus epidemic in the middle of winter. One last mite count now (after any treatment is removed) will let you know if your mite treatment program was successful. Treatments vary in effectiveness. You can NOT assume that your colonies are OK since you treated; you need to test and verify the treatment was successful. 3. A dry and wind protected hive. A small top entrance helps to ventilate moisture from the hive and provides an alternate entrance if the bottom entrance is covered in snow. A piece of insulation between the inner cover and outer cover can prevent condensation on the underside of the inner cover (condensation raining on the cluster can kill the colony). If a screened bottom board is used, the IPM board should be in place. Too much air moving through the hive will cause the colony to consume more honey to maintain the cluster temperature. Wrapping the hive also helps reduce air infiltration and can reduce heat loss, especially on those windy, sub-freezing February nights. Most of the new colonies I have looked at over the last 2 months are doing well. There are many variables; the one that is most important is mite counts. If the mite counts are low, the colonies are able to adjust to most of the other variables and pressures. Some dates for the new year: The American Beekeeping Federation will be meeting in Jacksonville, Florida this year. The program includes the latest news and research related to honeybees. The conference will be January 5-9, Visit the ABF website for more information: The Eastern Apiculture Society will be meeting in New Jersey this year. The meeting will be at the Stockton University in Galloway, July EAS is primarily oriented to the non-commercial beekeeper. This is an

4 excellent opportunity to learn more about beekeeping and the bees as well as interact with beekeepers from Quebec and Ontario to Florida. There are workshops too. More details of the EAS meeting will be coming out in 2016.

5 1,422 Strong!!! We quickly blew through the 1000 member milestone and are, as of this writing 1,422 members strong, and growing on our Facebook page! Be sure check it out. See the great pics and stories posted by the Facebook fans we have at our page. Remember: is your website! Check that site for everything Northeast New Jersey Beekeeping! Next Month The Northeast NJ Beekeepers welcome Gary Schempp of Busy Bees NJ will talk about World Travel: Bees and Beekeeping around the Globe. Bee there for more info. Tom Miller Jennifer Phillips Billy Neumann Hugh Knowlton Mike Miller Emma Stein Bob Slanzi Volunteers Refreshments Cakes, cookies, brownies, tea, etc. Refreshments Cakes, cookies and other treats Club photographer Workshop/Event coordinator and presenter Club apparel Resident artist Meadmaster